2008 Spyder, antifreeze overflowing?

[Kural]

Hi Guys,

Just wanting to pick your brains.

I have a premier edition Spyder with an infrequent, strange problem. I ride my Spyder almost daily as my normal commute vehicle. I live in the San Jose area, so we enjoy a fairly nice, stable climate throughout the year.

About 3 months ago, mid-October, this happened for the first time. Rode about 30 miles, stopped for coffee, and noticed that I had a decent amount of antifreeze on the ground when I came out to leave. The temp indicator had never gotten over 4 bars. This freaked me out, so I gently rode it back home on surface streets so I could assess and hopefully fix. I scanned the forums and found that leaks or cracks in the reservoir tank have been an issue for some. So, we opened it up to examine. No leaks, no cracks, nothing loose that we could see. The liquid level was low, so we added and test rode. Spyder behaved fine, no fluids leaking, no drips, nothing on the ground. So I figured the problem was solved, I would continue to monitor and keep on riding.

Two days ago I made my normal work commute, about 30 miles. Parked the Spyder, and what seemed like A LOT of antifreeze coming out under the bike. A good stream on the ground, and more dripping out as I watched, got down to see if I could see from the undercarriage where it was coming from, while it was happening. Also pulled the cover above the trunk to see if I could spot anything from that angle. I had to punch in for work, so I couldn't get anymore panels off to look further. Again, only hit 3-4 bars on the temp indicator, which is normal.

Thoughts? I have a call in to my local shop, and will see what they think. Your insight is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Karla / Kural

[SpyderAnn01]

There is a relay that operates the fan and if it rattles out of place and the fan doesn't go on it would cause the Spyder to overheat. But I would think that you would show more than 3 or 4 bars on the temperature gauge. Back in 2010 when I was riding an 08 Premiere Edition I had this problem and it was a bad relay.

[Yazz]

Had intermittent anti-freeze leaking on my '09 GS this spring. The longer/harder I rode, the more fluid came out. Never leaked just sitting in the garage.

We replaced the anti-freeze container and no more leaks.

After looking over the old container, found a hairline crack in one of the seams.

[coz]

check the one '' normal '' hose clamp in the area. it most likely needs to be tightened. common problem, but no big deal.

[Pandy]

My 2011 RTS did exactly the same thing. Replaced the overflow tank and problem solved. I give credit to this forum for leading me to the fix.
Patrick

[Bam Bam and Pebbles]

Sounds to me like you need to stop going to work, since it seems to happen only when you make your normal commute.

:joke:

[vided]

Sounds to me like you need to stop going to work, since it seems to happen only when you make your normal commute.

:joke:


R E T I R E R M E N T :yes::yes::yes:

[Chupaca]

probably the best would be to pressure test the reservoir tank and hose clamp. Most other antifreeze leaks are constant. Sometimes getting to operating temp can cause pressure build up. Like sticky thermostats...let us know if it turns out to be something different...:thumbup:

[MarkLawson]

Check your radiator cap to make sure it is properly installed to the 2nd stop.

A few years ago I was preparing to ride from Georgia to Durango for the Owners Event. I checked the coolant level before leaving and had trouble getting the cap back on (tight place and BIG hands). I finally got it where I thought it was right. I rode to Raton, New Mexico before it started puking coolant. I pulled the cap off, added some premixed coolant I bought at the gas station & when I put the cap back on & it twisted properly into place, I knew I have caused my problem and that it was now fixed.

If you or someone else have removed the cap, that is the most likely cause of the problem. It should be easily fixed by putting the cap on properly.

[coz]

i forgot about that one since Scotty is no longer here to remind us of all the possibilities.

[Kural]

Hey, thanks for the input, everyone. I will check those again, I had looked at the reservoir and what I could see of the hoses before, and saw nothing wrong. But, who knows, it's worth another try.

Another question- if my fluid levels are OK, as in, me checking regularly that is filled to recommended level, do you think it would be alright to ride it for a little while longer until I can get it to the shop? My point of comparison being, if you have a car with a radiator leak, you could monitor fluid and still drive it, as long as it's not overheating. I'm talk short-term.

Thanks again!

[Yazz]

Hey, thanks for the input, everyone. I will check those again, I had looked at the reservoir and what I could see of the hoses before, and saw nothing wrong. But, who knows, it's worth another try.

Another question- if my fluid levels are OK, as in, me checking regularly that is filled to recommended level, do you think it would be alright to ride it for a little while longer until I can get it to the shop? My point of comparison being, if you have a car with a radiator leak, you could monitor fluid and still drive it, as long as it's not overheating. I'm talk short-term.

Thanks again!

Before you head out, take some panels off, wiggle the anti-freeze fluid lines for any looseness at connections (Bad), check the cap so it's past the second detent and make sure the radiator reservoir drain plug is firmly seated.

If you don't feel comfortable doing the above, get it into the shop.

If you have done all the above and all is snug, watch your fluid levels.

[Freddy]

If the tank really is ok and it's not hose clamps leaking, fit a new rad cap - available quick & easy from an auto parts store.

[Jim's_Spyder]

If you are a do it your self kind of guy a cheap pressure tester can show you a lot. Using this you can pressurize the system and look for leaks while the engine is cool and you can feel around without worry of hot coolant spraying on you. Another issue is if you have a head gasket going it can pressurize the cooling system with combustion leakage from the cylinders. That will cause the radiator to have way more pressure than it should. That can cause the radiator to dump coolant even though the engine isn't overheating.
http://www.harborfreight.com/radiator-pressure-tester-kit-69258.html

[Kural]

Thanks for the info everyone. I will finally will be able to do a thorough look this morning. Dealer agreed it's probably this issue.

Much appreciated,

Karla

[WackyDan]

Two more things.

There is another part of the cooling system that is known to fail on the GS/RS. There is a plastic four way merge "Connector" that is also prone to cracking from temperature cycling.




Part # 709200151

Connector $16.99




Also the water pump can be bad and be leaking but usually you get an oil leak with that one if I remember correctly. Had that happen on mine. You really need to pay attention to where the antifreeze is leaking from. Where it lands on the ground isn't a good indicator.

[Kural]

OK, so it looks like I have a crack that is so slight I overlooked it before. So, we will change that out.

Does anyone have feedback on where to order the part? I could order from the local dealer, and have no issues with that, but I also like to support the "little guy" if there is one that you guys trust.

Thanks again,

Karla

[retread]

I bet the crack is in the seam about half way up the tank, probably hidden by the bracket for the tank. That's where it was on my '08. A word of caution, if you check the radiator drain plug, be VERY careful, a lot of the '08s had bad solder joints there that didn't show up till somebody put a wrench on them.

john

[Yazz]

OK, so it looks like I have a crack that is so slight I overlooked it before. So, we will change that out.

Does anyone have feedback on where to order the part? I could order from the local dealer, and have no issues with that, but I also like to support the "little guy" if there is one that you guys trust.

Thanks again,

Karla

Thanks for telling us what the problem is.

If your local dealer will be installing it, order it from there.

If you're going to do-it-yourself, order from any of the SpyderLovers dealer sponsors, and ask for the SpyderLovers discount.

[GunDoctor]

I had the same issue a month and a half ago with the RSS 2011 .Short run for lunch and as soon as my girlfriend back into the parking spot she hears a load pop. Looks down and a green trail of antifreeze running away from the bike. Thinking a hose came undone I pulled the R panel off but could no find a thug. Being close to a dealer I had it pIcked up and long story short they found nothing. Said they pressure tested the system, was aware of the problems with the bottle, but nothing found. The only thing I could think of I was checking fluids and saw that at cold, it was a little low, so I added fluid. Maybe it wasn't reading correctly at cold and it had too much? Could have been the cap that she heard pop. 100993


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[Spyder2012]

check the one '' normal '' hose clamp in the area. it most likely needs to be tightened. common problem, but no big deal.
My 2012 started a slight drip under the right front side recently (that I have been aware of). Followed your suggestion, and found the screw in the one "normal" hose clamp was not even finger tight. Hard to get to, but tightened that clamp and will see if that fixes the drip. Oddly enough, the coolant resevoir (tank) is still half full. Not half empty as a pessimist might state.

Thanks, and we will see if this works.